Laura Dern In, Joe Johnston Off JURASSIC PARK IV

[AndyDursin]

Laura Dern is in, apparently, but Joe Johnston is out. (So are Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, looks like they're revolving the door for the original stars and it's Dern's time?).

Sad, because I felt he did a much better job with III than Spielberg himself did with II.

http://www.mtv.com/#/movies/news/articl ... tory.jhtml

[Monterey Jack]

Part 2 was lame, part three was HIDEOUS. Time to let these dinos go extinct.

[AndyDursin]

Part 2 was lame, part three was HIDEOUS. Time to let these dinos go extinct.

You just said the same thing about THE MUMMY movies. You are clearly one tough viewer to please!

[Eric W.]

Part 2 was lame, part three was HIDEOUS. Time to let these dinos go extinct.

Yes!

[Eric Paddon]

I hated II with its arrogant enviromentalist message, but III was an okay time-killer in the "Jaws 2" tradition.

[AndyDursin]

I hated II with its arrogant enviromentalist message, but III was an okay time-killer in the "Jaws 2" tradition.

That's exactly what it was. I can't imagine too many people actually think III is worse than II, it was an improvement nearly across the board. Had the ending not been re-shot/rushed it would've been great, but there's no reason not to enjoy it as the B-movie rollercoaster ride that it is.

I love JAWS 2 as well -- it's not Spielberg but it's still a great, fun movie.

[DavidM]

JP 2 is hideous! 3 is a decent B-movie that's missing an ending like Andy said. I hope this time they don't stick a kid in it!

[AndyDursin]

JP 2 is hideous! 3 is a decent B-movie that's missing an ending like Andy said. I hope this time they don't stick a kid in it!

Yeah I'd drink to that too. Though, the kid in III wasn't nearly as awful as Goldblum's daughter (loved the resemblance!) in II. The minute she Power Rangered the raptors I knew Spielberg had basically sunk to his lowest level ever.

[Jedbu]

There is no way that JPII is the worst film in the Spielberg canon. Remember ALWAYS? That is the one film of his that I cannot watch again. I saw it just before it opened and thought it was OK, but watching it again a few years later I just turned the VCR off when Audrey Hepburn appeared and introduced herself as "Hap!"

Audrey Hepburn playing a character called. . .Hap? Kinda blows the mind, doesn't it?

And let us not forget HOOK-that incredible overblown kids epic that calls to mind what Stan Laurel said about the first feature that he and Hardy made together: "a three-story building on a one-story base."

With the exception of the opening musical number from INDY II, you can keep that one, as far as I'm concerned.

JPII, WAR OF THE WORLDS and MINORITY REPORT are masterpieces by comparison, IMHO.

[romanD]

still, i feel whenever I watch JPII that Spielberg clearly just finished his contract with UNIVERSAL there. He had no ambition for this movie at all, just remember that he did not even shot the showdown on JP1 already himself. So, why should he have been interested in the sequel? The actionscenes are marvellous, but the script is plain bad and missed to expand on the whole idea. It was already a step in the wrong direction and there seems no real way out of this. They should have let the dinos get onto mainland and into a real city in part 2 already. That they keep the storylines now on that island is very boring.

Part 3 had great actionscenes again, and at least was short. It is just too bad that with a budget like this and a franchise this huge they dont have any single ambition storywise.

I very often think about what the other proposed directors - Tim Burton and Joe Dante - would have done with the whole franchise. Im sure Joe Dante would have been the one I liked the most, though his usual injokes would have been a bit off I guess for this.

[AndyDursin]

There is no way that JPII is the worst film in the Spielberg canon. Remember ALWAYS? That is the one film of his that I cannot watch again. I saw it just before it opened and thought it was OK, but watching it again a few years later I just turned the VCR off when Audrey Hepburn appeared and introduced herself as "Hap!"

Audrey Hepburn playing a character called. . .Hap? Kinda blows the mind, doesn't it?

And let us not forget HOOK-that incredible overblown kids epic that calls to mind what Stan Laurel said about the first feature that he and Hardy made together: "a three-story building on a one-story base."

With the exception of the opening musical number from INDY II, you can keep that one, as far as I'm concerned.

JPII, WAR OF THE WORLDS and MINORITY REPORT are masterpieces by comparison, IMHO.

You'd seriously prefer THE LOST WORLD to THE TEMPLE OF DOOM?!? Yikes.

Personal preferences are difficult to argue, but I'd take ALWAYS or HOOK any day over JP II. At least HOOK has a tremendous score (which alone makes the film endurable for me) and SOME great scenes interspersed with a lot of saccharine elements, and ALWAYS...listen, I didn't think it was great by any means, but it's a cute movie. Allen Daviau's cinematography is nice, Dreyfuss and Hunter are good, though Brad Johnson certainly never turned into anything other than a direct-to-video name (Philadelphia Experiment II, anyone? It's a romantic comedy, lightweight fantasy, not his best by any means but I don't think it's deserving of its bad rep.

Nothing works at all in THE LOST WORLD. The plot is a mess, the dialog is lame, the story makes no sense (introducing characters, then dropping them like Pete Postelthwaite's big game hunter, who literally announces he's leaving the film!), the environmental preaching is cringe-inducing, and the last third comes out of nowhere -- hey let's go back to civilization...only to have such amazing sequences as the dinosaur taking down a gas station. Wow! That whole section screamed "last minute re-write," and for the first time Spielberg fumbled every opportunity at generating suspense and emotion.

Roman I don't think he was under contract to direct it, just be involved. In hindsight I think he made a major mistake, because I agree the movie is uninspired and even embarrassing at times. The scene with Goldblum's daughter kicking the raptors, as I mentioned, is so awful -- these are the same cunning creatures Bob Peck couldn't outwit in the original film, and yet a few Power Rangers maneuvers and she's in the clear. Yeah, whatever.... None of the set pieces stand out, and topping it off is Janusz Kaminski's ugly cinematography. Even Williams' score is not his best.

I still chalk it up as his worst -- or at least most unsatisfying film -- because at least there are some things I like about the films usually considered in his "bottom tier" (like Always, Hook, The Terminal).

There ain't much that works in THE LOST WORLD, or that's worth revisiting, either. What IS there to like about it?

[Eric W.]

^^ Hook's soundtrack desperately needs a remastering and expanded SE job.

[AndyDursin]

^^ Hook's soundtrack desperately needs a remastering and expanded SE job.

It's a strong, long album but there's more out there (obviously) that could make for a great 2-CD set.

Not sure we'll ever see it though.

[Eric W.]

^^ Hook's soundtrack desperately needs a remastering and expanded SE job.

It's a strong, long album but there's more out there (obviously) that could make for a great 2-CD set.

Not sure we'll ever see it though.